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2016 Chevy Volt will have more EV range, bigger battery

Meet the new Volt, not the same as the old Volt. That appears to be the story when General Motors introduces the 2016 Chevy Volt at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Today we're getting some more details on the guts of the new plug-in hybrid, and it turns out they're going to be much improved from the current Volt, which first went on sale at the end of 2010. Sure, the first-gen Volt did get some improvements along the way (a slightly larger battery pack, lane departure warnings) but the new Volt – which will go on sale in the second half of 2015 – marks the first time GM has been able to return to the drawing board and really make the improvements that its customers want. That's how Larry Nitz, GM's executive director of vehicle electrification explained it to AutoblogGreen today when explaining the all-new Voltec extended range electric vehicle (EREV) powertrain. "In the Gen 2 is we gave the engine a little more power, a little more torque, a little more displacement, more capability." – Larry Nitz Nitz said that the new Volt will be better in almost every sense: a bigger battery, longer EV-only range, 20 percent better acceleration in the low speed range and higher overall efficiency. This is due, in part, to the Volt's two motors being able to both act as generators and power the car. As we noted this morning, the 2016 Volt will use a larger, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, a version of which is already used in the Chinese-market Cruze. Nitz said that this has a number of benefits, including more power and quieter operation. "Some people would say, why did you make [the first-gen engine] so big. I would say, why did you make it so small?" he said. "It works good, our customers love it, but the reality is that if you go a little bit off and use the car a little harder, you can get the engine to need to operate at a higher speed. In an EV, that's quite noticeable. So, what we did in the Gen 2 is we gave the engine a little more power, a little more torque, a little more displacement, more capability and what it has marginally enabled is not only is it more efficient but it's also quieter." Nitz wouldn't talk about how the new powertrain might affect the two other products that use the Volt's underpinnings – the Cadillac ELR and the Opel Ampera – but if you've got a quieter option, we assume that's something ELR drivers would enjoy. But that's a story for another day.

Recharge Wrap-up: U of M wins Solar Challenge, family attempts record-breaking e-bike ride

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team has won the 2014 American Solar Challenge. It is the team's eighth national championship, its fifth in a row, and its first using Siemens' product lifecycle management (PLM) software. The race took place over 1,722 miles and seven days traveling across eight states. The team's car, called "Quantum," outpaced the nearest competitor by four hours. Looking forward, Michigan Solar Car Project Manager Pavan Naik says, "The switch to Siemens tools will give us the ability to model and simulate everything and truly allow us to optimize the performance of our new vehicle. As we start on our quest to win the World Solar Challenge in 2015, we'll be leveraging a full complement of PLM solutions." Read more in the press release below. The EcoCar3 competition, in which teams will convert Chevrolet Camaros into hybrid electric cars, begins in September. The various college teams will have four years to lessen the car's environmental impact as much as possible while maintaining performance and, of course, that cool Camaro design. EcoCar3, which is put on by the US Department of Energy and General Motors, kicks off with a workshop in Novi, Michigan from September 16 - 18. Read more at the DOE website at the dedicated EcoCar3 site or watch the announcement video at our previous post. Zap and Jonway Auto are shifting to a high rate of EV production. Zap already has two lines creating the Urbee EV to met demand, and is switching over a third to make electric minivans and SUVs. The company aims to produce 30,000 EVs by 2015 for the Chinese market. Zap says it has a backlog of 25,000 Urbee orders. Read more in the press release below. A family of four hopes to make a world record-breaking, 6,000-mile electric bike journey this fall. The family, which recently drove from Argentina to Montana in a pickup with a camper, will ride from Montana to Maine, then down the East Coast to Florida in an attempt to break the record for longest electric bicycle ride. They'll use two bikes. The Father, Thomas, will ride one of the bikes carrying one of the children, while the rest of the family rides in a support vehicle, with the mother, Dylan, riding the second bike when they can find others to drive. They have started a crowdfunding campaign for some of the equipment needed to document the trip. See the video below or read more at Treehugger.

EcoCar3 will convert Camaro to bitchin' eco rides

In the 47-year-history of the Chevrolet Camaro, there have been countless college-age kids spending a ton of time getting under the hood and souping 'em up. Now, General Motors is adding a twist to the concept by donating 16 Camaros for the EcoCar challenge that puts university teams together to wring out better fuel-efficiency out of various vehicles. No word on whether there will be donuts on anyone's lawn, as suggested by 80's punks the Dead Milkmen, but the idea's never a bad one. EcoCar3 will feature 16 teams such as Arizona State, Penn State, Ontario's University of Waterloo and, of course, Detroit's Wayne State University. They'll spend the next four years "[reducing] environmental impact, while maintaining the muscle and performance expected from this iconic American car," as the EcoCar organizers say. The goal is to maintain body design and safety standards while boosting efficiency and lowering emissions, but the actual process is far more complicated than that description suggests. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Bosch are among the sponsors of the contest, which is also put on by the US Department of Energy and managed by Argonne National Laboratory. Penn State won Year Two of the three-year EcoCar 2 competition with its E85 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle converted out of a Chevy Malibu. The grand-prize winner of EcoCar2 will be announced in June. Check out the EcoCar3 website and see the announcement video below for more details. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.